What’s up with those giant horse statues at P.F. Chang’s? According to P.F. Chang’s website, “Our majestic 11 ft. tall horses grace the entrance to many of our restaurants. The horse symbolizes the original Forbidden City in China, which was built for China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi.” Here’s some background:

By all accounts Qin Shi Haungdi was a pretty horrible guy. Born in 259 BC, he was a warring emperor who is best remembered for burning books and burying scholars alive to avoid comparisons of his reign with the past. Three assassination attempts were made in Qin Shihuang’s life, leading him to become paranoid and obsessed with immortality. More proof that Qin was a terrible person: All of his concubines who did not bear him children, plus all the mausoleum’s craftsmen who “knew too much” were ordered to be exterminated post-burial. According to a biography of Qin, “…After the funeral ceremonies had completed and the treasures hidden away, the inner gates were blocked, and the outer gate lowered, immediately trapping all the workers and craftsmen inside, and none could escape. Wow. It’s so great that P.F. Chang’s is paying homage to such an amazing legacy.